Did Pogǎcar gift Van der Poel Tour stage victory in Paris?
Is the Slovenian the most generous man in pro cycling, always handing out presents?
Tadej Pogacar, what a pal.
What a generous guy, always thinking of others, giving compliments and gifts.
He’s not only the patron of the peloton, he’s the bestower of favors and rewards.
We saw that on full display on the final stage of the Tour de France in Paris.
No, it wasn’t enough that he’s already gifted his UAE Emirates teammate Isaac Del Toro a stage win in Le Tour. That was magnanimous. What a classy guy!
Then on the final climb up Alpe d’Huez, he also shepherded Del Toro up the mountain to protect his white jersey as best young rider — and keep Frenchman Paul Seixas from stealing third place of the podium.
To those crusty old school pros from back in the day, who proudly proclaimed, “No Gifts,“ Pogacar says, “when’s your birthday?”
And so it was as the Paris stage hit the Montmartre circuit. Three lung breaking 1k climbs up the cobbles. On lap one, Pogǎcar make it clear he was taking control and everybody should enjoy the fireworks.
On the second lap, the Slovenian — and now five time Tour de France winner — again shows the world he’s the greatest. He blasts up the hill so fast only Matheiu van der Poel and Remco Evenepol can follow.
That group of three becomes four as the green jersey of Mads Pedersen manages to latch on. The peloton is furious and chasing furiously.
It’s Pogcǎr and Van der Poel against a charging group lead by Decathon for their sprint Olav Kooij.
This is when Pogacar decides, “yeah, going to give this one to my buddy VDP.”
He eses off the throttle in the last 500 meters with the case mere seconds behind. In a final herculean effort that bordered on astonishing, Van der Poel holds them off by a bike length. Good old, Pogǎcar, what a thoughtful gift!!! Is this guy altruistic, benevolent, running his own pro cycling charity?
Past the line, Van der Poel crumples to the tarmac, laying on his side, hands to his face. His chest was heaving and I couldn’t tell he if was hyperventilating or sobbing tears of joy or having an out-of-body experience.
Even after several minutes he could barely stand. His wife gave him a kiss and a hug, leaning over the barrier. But the Dutchman’s face was blank, dazed, the thousand yard stare. I’m not sure he even knew it was her, he was so drained of energy and comprehension.
Maybe he just couldn’t believe Pogǎcar’s incredible generosity — on the final stage, of the Tour de France, on the Super Bowl of sprinters, in Paris, the City of Lights!
Okay, now we made all that stuff up. But it was fun, wasn’t it? Tadej Pogacar was riding to win, no gifts, no favors. But for the only time in the entire race, there was an odd look on his face: he actually appeared tired.
So he faded, conceded, let the sprinter mob blow past him. Then again, who really knows? Maybe, just maybe, he was giving Van der Poel a little extra help.